Nuggets keep composure and pull out late road victory against Clippers

The Denver Nuggets (1-0) defeated the Los Angeles Clippers (0-1) 107-98 in Los Angeles to open the season with a big road win. Nikola Jokic led all scorers with 21 points and added 5 assists while Gary Harris added 20 points of his own. Tobias Harris contributed 19 points for the Clippers in the loss.

The game didn’t always come easy for the Nuggets tonight, but they never got rattled by the circumstances and showed a maturity that proves this team is different from that of last year.

Nikola Jokic didn’t attempt a shot or free throw until midway through the first quarter and Paul Millsap couldn’t get anything going offensively (his only field goal would be the go-ahead floater late in the fourth). Still, the Nuggets got out to their largest early lead of the game after two impressive finishes from their starting backcourt Jamal Murray and Gary Harris.

Some of the new “points of emphasis” from an officiating perspective played a role in the early going. The 14-second shot clock reset left both teams out of sync off of offensive rebounds, as it will for some time to start the season. Meanwhile, Jokic seems primed to take advantage of the impeding motion rule as he tries to gain position in the post throughout the season.

In the second quarter the Nuggets second unit was as dominant as they had been all preseason. The bench gave the Nuggets a 9-0 run led by Monte Morris and Mason Plumlee distributing the ball and keeping the pace high. With the run the Nuggets lead increased all the way to 11 points before the second unit had run it’s course and began to lose some of the aggression against Boban Marjanovic and the Clippers bench.

The transition back to the starting lineup was a little choppy as the Nuggets allowed the Clippers to get back into it midway through the second quarter with the game tied at 46. Despite the bench getting off to a great start for the Nuggets, the Clippers bench ended up outscoring Denver’s at the half 30-18. The Nuggets starters were able to rectify the situation and give the Nuggets the 59-54 lead at the half.

The second half got off to a physical start with both teams again dealing with some of the new calls that were being made while trying to stay as composed as possible. All the stoppages prevented either team from taking the momentum, keeping the energy relatively low all the way through the third quarter with Denver clinging to their lead.

To close the third the “simplified ” clear path rule made its first appearance as Trey Lyles was fouled by Montrezl Harrell with 0.9 seconds left on the clock. Lyles didn’t end up having control of the ball so the Nuggets were only awarded two free throws. The Clippers prepared for a deep inbound to Boban met by a Thomas Welsh counter from the Nuggets, but all of that was not to be after Lyles missed the second shot.

The second unit regained their pace after a Plumlee block to start the fourth and Monte Morris even got in on the scoring action with a step-back banked 3-pointer that kept the Clipper crowd silent for a moment.

That was before Boban, the Nuggets assassin, got things going with multiple dunks and pick and roll and-ones (exactly the same as last season’s dominant game). Marjanovic was met with MVP chants by the Clippers home crowd and it seemed like the Clippers had completely grasped the momentum with seven minutes to play.

Although Denver got down as many eight, the steady presence of Will Barton and Gary Harris scoring the ball chipped away at the lead despite some inexplicable calls against them. In one instance it appeared that Los Angeles should have been called for an illegal substitution technical, as it was called on the court, but it ended up being called back, simply giving the Nuggets possession.

A Jokic three and Millsap’s only bucket of the night allowed the Nuggets to regain the lead before Tobias Harris tied the game at 95 at the free throw line. Coming out of a replay review for an out-of-bounds call the Nuggets went to a pick and roll with Murray driving and dumping off to Jokic to give the Nuggets a two point lead with 1:24 to go. After a solid defensive stop Gary Harris delivered the dagger on a step-back mid-range jumper.

This Nuggets performance down the stretch, including an 8-0 run, proved that this team seems to have matured from last season. The team never seemed rushed even as the game started to get away from them at times. The Nuggets didn’t let their poor second half shooting bother them, instead they secured defensive stops and remained steady on the offensive end to run away with the victory.

Denver will return to the Mile High City for their home opener Saturday Oct. 20th against the Phoenix Suns who are coming off their 121-100 victory over the Mavericks.